Getting A Cheap Thrill

BOOKS

In Historic New England

On trips to New England, some naturally opt for quaint olde activities such as visiting historic sites, whale watching, and similar traditional stuff. But those in the know know that the Northeast is also historically a hotbed (perhaps due to all the factories supported by the region's rivers) of bargain outlets. What we're trying to say tactfully is: You've got here a guide that'll lead you to bargain Shaker furniture and other handcrafts, half-price Black & Decker tools, even Brooks Brothers dress shirts for $16. Forget Moby Dick!

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THE DISCERNING TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO ROMANTIC HIDEAWAYS OF THE EAST COAST, David & Linda Glickstein: New York, St. Martin's Press, 1993; 206 pp. $14.95

Only 52 inns are listed, and they ain't cheap; a handful are under $100, and one Nantucket hotel's suites run $995 a night, with continental breakfast. That said, though, every last one is a find (typical: a fairy-tale New Hampshire Victorian mansion with horse-drawn trolley and lobster Benedict brunch), and so is this illustrated guide. Its charming, super-thorough three to four-page descriptions, as mouth-wateringly evocative as the inns themselves, guarantee that romance-seekers get what they pay for.

"There are five ways to enter Santa Fe, six if you count landing in spacecraft."This is just the opening of Chapter 16 in this journal of the "space monks" - a sort of al fresco publishing company consisting of two guys who travel in a dented trailer, writing about their adventures. But this is a journey that crosses time.